If there was ever a feature shoot I wish I could go back and redo with the exact same conditions but everything I know now, this would be it. Modified Magazine tasked me with shooting the Signal Auto MKIV Toyota Supra at SEMA 2004, back when I was still a freelancer and, honestly, a relative newbie to using DSLRs. I grasped the fundamentals, obviously, but my understanding of lighting was basic at best. What I got that evening was one of the best sunsets I have ever witnessed while doing a shoot, and the colors could not have matched this car any better. Unfortunately, a lot of the photos I took were just garbage because of my lack of understanding of proper exposures. I also just did not have the right tools with me to shoot the car in those conditions.
Some of the sunset photos were salvageable, though, and with what Photoshop is capable of doing now, I was able to preserve a couple for this feature. Regardless of the outcome, this is still one of my favorite shoots ever, and nearly 22 years later it finally gets a permanent home in the archives.
For anyone who wasn’t paying attention to the scene back then, Signal Auto grew in popularity in the U.S. in the early 2000s thanks to their S13.5 drift demo cars, arriving right as drifting was starting to become a thing over here. This Supra fit right into that program, and it looked like nothing else on the SEMA floor that year. The custom Ekishow liquid crystal paint scheme shifted colors depending on the light, which is exactly why that sunset stung so much, because the paint and the sky were doing things together that I only partially managed to capture. Over that paint sat a full Top Secret aero kit with the front bumper, side skirts, rear bumper, rear diffuser, and fenders widened 20mm up front and 70mm out back, plus Signal Aqua graphics, a stock modified hood, Area TK mirrors, Tamon Design headlamp covers painted to match, and a Signal Auto 1,700mm carbon fiber GT wing.
Under the hood, the 2JZ-GTE leaned on HKS for the heart of the build: twin GT2835 turbos, 264 intake and exhaust camshafts, a custom stainless steel exhaust manifold, a GT three-row intercooler, twin racing wastegates, and 550cc injectors, all managed by an HKS F-CON V Pro Gold computer. A TRUST 16-row oil cooler and a Koyo 53mm aluminum radiator handled the heat, a Yashio Factory Okachan water spray helped it survive abuse, twin R33 GT-R fuel pumps kept it fed, and everything exited through a custom Area TK full titanium exhaust system. An Exedy Hyper triple-disc clutch and a TRD 2-way LSD sent it all rearward, with Tanabe Sustec Pro RR coilovers running drift-stiff 1,232 lb/in (22 kg/mm) front and 1,008 lb/in (18 kg/mm) rear spring rates. The rolling stock was pure 2004 in the best way, Mercury Silver Volk Racing GT-Cs measuring 18×10 inches front and 18×11 inches rear, wrapped in prototype BFGoodrich rubber at 225/35R18 and 255/30R18. Inside, the Ekishow treatment continued in TK blue, joined by Stout racing seats, a MOMO steering wheel, and DEFi gauges in the form of a 115mm tachometer and 60mm boost gauge.
This shoot also gave me two friendships that shaped the years that followed. It was where I met Ken Williams, the translator for the shoot, who ended up taking me around Tokyo when I first went there and contributed to Tunerzine over the years. I also need to give another thanks to James Innes of IPG Parts, who let me tag along during SEMA 2004 when I did not know very many people. He introduced me to tons of new contacts in the industry and drove me around to several shoots since I had no budget for a rental car. James and I worked together at Titan Motorsports, where we were the big Honda guys around the shop, and he supported Tunerzine throughout the years, running our sticker on his championship winning Sport FWD EG Civic.
This feature originally ran in the March 2005 issue of Modified Magazine, which also carried my first cover ever, the Nitto Scion tC, a shoot I will be bringing into the archives soon. I shot this Supra as a freelancer, but by the time it hit print, I had officially become an editorial consultant for the book and moved out to California as a result. The Enjuku Racing drag S13 opened the door at Modified, but this era is when I actually walked through it. Not bad for a shoot I still consider one that got away from me.
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